Yaw Rate and Sideslip Angle Control Through Single Input Single Output Direct Yaw Moment Control

Electric vehicles with independently controlled drivetrains allow torque vectoring, which enhances active safety and handling qualities. This article proposes an approach for the concurrent control of yaw rate and sideslip angle based on a single-input single-output (SISO) yaw rate controller. With the SISO formulation, the reference yaw rate is first defined according to the vehicle handling requirements and is then corrected based on the actual sideslip angle. The sideslip angle contribution guarantees a prompt corrective action in critical situations such as incipient vehicle oversteer during limit cornering in low tire-road friction conditions. A design methodology in the frequency domain is discussed, including stability analysis based on the theory of switched linear systems. The performance of the control structure is assessed via: 1) phase-plane plots obtained with a nonlinear vehicle model; 2) simulations with an experimentally validated model, including multiple feedback control structures; and 3) experimental tests on an electric vehicle demonstrator along step steer maneuvers with purposely induced and controlled vehicle drift. Results show that the SISO controller allows constraining the sideslip angle within the predetermined thresholds and yields tire-road friction adaptation with all the considered feedback controllers

On the Feedback Control of Hitch Angle through Torque-Vectoring

This paper describes a torque-vectoring (TV) algorithm for the control of the hitch angle of an articulated vehicle. The hitch angle control function prevents trailer oscillations and instability during extreme cornering maneuvers. The proposed control variable is a weighted combination of terms accounting for the yaw rate, sideslip angle and hitch angle of the articulated vehicle. The novel control variable formulation results in a single-input single-output (SISO) feedback controller. In the specific application a simple proportional integral (PI) controller with gain scheduling on vehicle velocity is developed. The TV system is implemented and experimentally tested on a fully electric vehicle with four on-board drivetrains, towing a single-axle passive trailer. Sinusoidal steer test results show that the proposed algorithm significantly improves the behavior of the articulated vehicle, and justify further research on the topic of hitch angle control through TV

CYP2D6 and CYP2C8 pharmacogenetics and pharmacological interactions to predict imatinib plasmatic exposure in GIST patients

Patients on treatment with oral fixed dose imatinib are frequently under- or overexposed to the drug. We investigated the association between the gene activity score (GAS) of imatinib-metabolizing cytochromes (CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2C8) and imatinib and nor-imatinib exposure. We also investigated the impact of concurrent drug-drug-interactions (DDIs) on the association between GAS and imatinib exposure

An Integrated Pharmacological Counselling Approach to Guide Decision-Making in the Treatment with CDK4/6 Inhibitors for Metastatic Breast Cancer

A wide inter-individual variability in the therapeutic response to cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibitors (CDKis) has been reported. We herein present a case series of five patients treated with either palbociclib or ribociclib referred to our clinical pharmacological counselling, including therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), pharmacogenetics, and drug–drug interaction analysis to support clinicians in the management of CDKis treatment for metastatic breast cancer. Patients’ plasma samples for TDM analysis were collected at steady state and analyzed by an LC-MS/MS method for minimum plasma concentration (Cmin) evaluation. Under and overexposure to the drug were defined based on the mean Cmin values observed in population pharmacokinetic studies. Polymorphisms in selected genes encoding for proteins involved in drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination were analyzed (CYP3A4, CYP3A5, ABCB1, SLCO1B1, and ABCG2). Three of the five reported cases presented a CDKi plasma level above the population mean value and were referred for toxicity. One of them presented a low function ABCB1 haplotype (ABCB1-rs1128503, rs1045642, and rs2032582), possibly causative of both increased drug oral absorption and plasmatic concentration. Two patients showed underexposure to CDKis, and one of them was referred for early progression. In one patient, a CYP3A5*1/*3 genotype was found to be potentially responsible for more efficient drug metabolism and lower drug plasma concentration. This intensified pharmacological approach in clinical practice has been shown to be potentially effective in supporting prescribing oncologists with dose and drug selection and could be ultimately useful for increasing both the safety and efficacy profiles of CDKi treatment

Autonomous driving and stability control of over-actuated vehicles at the limits of handling.

In the last decades autonomous vehicles have been at the centre of the research in both the academic and the industrial fields, but not without difficulties. In particular, the problem of path planning and tracking at the limit of the handling capabilities of a vehicle poses many challenges from a control perspective, and it is yet to be understood whether the integration with stability controllers can improve the cornering performance of autonomous vehicles as much as it does for human drivers. This thesis aims to provide insights on these topics. The first part of the work is dedicated to the planning and tracking layers of an autonomous vehicle driving on racetracks. The analysis covers the offline optimisation of the trajectory and the description of a re-planning algorithm for the avoidance of obstacles. A comparison among several path tracking controllers is then provided, to understand whether the gain in performance obtained from advanced controllers justifies the design complexity. In the second part, the thesis highlights the benefits of yaw rate control on the behaviour of over-actuated vehicles. An algorithm for yaw rate control is introduced and implemented in a torque vectoring controller, and the proof of asymptotic stability of the system is provided. Several application examples are presented, with simulation and experimental results that demonstrate the potential and versatility of yaw rate control. Finally, the integration of torque vectoring and path tracking control in an autonomous racing vehicle is presented and assessed with a simulation study along obstacle avoidance tests. The results of the thesis show that: i) including road preview information in path tracking controllers improves the control action, resulting in better vehicle behaviour, and ii) torque vectoring control always improves the vehicle performance, and it also enhances the system robustness to variations in the tyre-road friction coefficient

Autonomous driving and stability control of over-actuated vehicles at the limits of handling.

In the last decades autonomous vehicles have been at the centre of the research in both the academic and the industrial fields, but not without difficulties. In particular, the problem of path planning and tracking at the limit of the handling capabilities of a vehicle poses many challenges from a control perspective, and it is yet to be understood whether the integration with stability controllers can improve the cornering performance of autonomous vehicles as much as it does for human drivers. This thesis aims to provide insights on these topics. The first part of the work is dedicated to the planning and tracking layers of an autonomous vehicle driving on racetracks. The analysis covers the offline optimisation of the trajectory and the description of a re-planning algorithm for the avoidance of obstacles. A comparison among several path tracking controllers is then provided, to understand whether the gain in performance obtained from advanced controllers justifies the design complexity. In the second part, the thesis highlights the benefits of yaw rate control on the behaviour of over-actuated vehicles. An algorithm for yaw rate control is introduced and implemented in a torque vectoring controller, and the proof of asymptotic stability of the system is provided. Several application examples are presented, with simulation and experimental results that demonstrate the potential and versatility of yaw rate control. Finally, the integration of torque vectoring and path tracking control in an autonomous racing vehicle is presented and assessed with a simulation study along obstacle avoidance tests. The results of the thesis show that: i) including road preview information in path tracking controllers improves the control action, resulting in better vehicle behaviour, and ii) torque vectoring control always improves the vehicle performance, and it also enhances the system robustness to variations in the tyre-road friction coefficient

Comparison of Path Tracking and Torque-Vectoring Controllers for Autonomous Electric Vehicles

Steering control for path tracking in autonomous vehicles is well documented in the literature. Also, continuous direct yaw moment control, i.e., torque-vectoring, applied to human-driven electric vehicles with multiple motors is extensively researched. However, the combination of both controllers is not yet well understood. This paper analyzes the benefits of torque-vectoring in an autonomous electric vehicle, either by integrating the torque-vectoring system in the path tracking controller, or through its separate implementation alongside the steering controller for path tracking. A selection of path tracking controllers is compared in obstacle avoidance tests simulated with an experimentally validated vehicle dynamics model. A genetic optimization is used to select the controller parameters. Simulation results confirm that torque-vectoring is beneficial to autonomous vehicle response. The integrated controllers achieve the best performance if they are tuned for the specific tire-road friction condition. However, they can also cause unstable behavior when they operate in lower friction conditions without any re-tuning. On the other hand, separate torque-vectoring implementations provide consistently stable cornering response for a wide range of friction conditions. Controllers with preview formulations, or based on appropriate reference paths with respect to the middle line of the available lane, are beneficial to the path tracking performance

Sliding and rolling of yield stress fluid droplets on highly slippery lubricated surfaces

Hypothesis: Droplets of yield stress fluids (YSFs), i.e. fluids that can flow only if they are subjected to a stress above a critical value and otherwise deform like solids, hardly move on solid surfaces due to their high viscosity. The use of highly slippery lubricated surfaces can shed light on the mobility of YSF droplets, which include everyday soft materials, such as toothpaste or mayonnaise, and biological fluids, such as mucus. Experiments: The spreading and mobility of droplets of aqueous solutions of swollen Carbopol microgels were studied on lubricant infused surfaces. These solutions represent a model system of YSFs. Dynamical phase diagrams were established by varying the concentration of the solutions and the inclination angle of the surfaces. Findings: Carbopol droplets deposited on lubricated surfaces could move even at low inclination angles. The droplets were found to slide because of the slip of the flowing oil that covered the solid substrate. However, as the descending speed increased, the droplets rolled down. Rolling was favored at high inclinations and low concentrations. A simple criterion based on the ratio between the yield stress of the Carbopol suspensions and the gravitational stress acting on the Carbopol droplets was found to nicely identify the transition between the two regimes

On the design of yaw rate control via variable front-to-total anti-roll moment distribution

In vehicle dynamics, yaw rate control is used to improve the cornering response in steady-state and transient conditions. This can be achieved through an appropriate anti-roll moment distribution between the front and rear axles of a vehicle with controllable suspension actuators. Such control action alters the load transfer distribution, which in turn provokes a lateral tire force variation. With respect to the extensive set of papers from the literature discussing yaw rate tracking through active suspension control, this study presents: i) A detailed analysis of the effect of the load transfer on the lateral axle force and cornering stiffness; ii) A novel linearized single-track vehicle model formulation for control system design, based on the results in i); and iii) An optimization-based routine for the design of the non-linear feedforward contribution of the control action. The resulting feedforward-feedback controller is assessed through: a) Simulations with an experimentally validated model of a vehicle with active anti-roll bars (case study 1); and b) Experimental tests on a vehicle prototype with an active suspension system (case study 2)

Trailer control through vehicle yaw moment control: Theoretical analysis and experimental assessment

This paper investigates a torque-vectoring formulation for the combined control of the yaw rate and hitch angle of an articulated vehicle through a direct yaw moment generated on the towing car. The formulation is based on a single-input single-output feedback control structure, in which the reference yaw rate for the car is modified when the incipient instability of the trailer is detected with a hitch angle sensor. The design of the hitch angle controller is described, including the gain scheduling as a function of vehicle speed. The controller performance is assessed by means of frequency domain and phase plane analyses, and compared with that of an industrial trailer sway mitigation algorithm. In addition, the novel control strategy is implemented in a high-fidelity articulated vehicle model for robustness assessment, and experimentally tested on an electric vehicle demonstrator with four on-board drivetrains, towing two different conventional single-axle trailers. The results show that: (i) the torque-vectoring controller based only on the yaw rate of the car is not sufficient to mitigate trailer instability in extreme conditions; and (ii) the proposed controller provides safe trailer behaviour during the comprehensive set of manoeuvres, thus justifying the additional hardware complexity associated with the hitch angle measurement